The weather is getting colder and the small birds are getting hungrier. Most of the ones that come to my hand in the Flower Walk are Great Tits, but they were joined by a Blue Tit, a Robin and, at the end, a tiny Coal Tit.
There was also quite a lot going on in the Rose Garden shrubbery, with the usual male Chaffinch ...
... his mate, lurking shyly under a bush ...
... one of the two Robins that come to be fed ...
... and a Dunnock, which hasn't got the idea yet but probably will.
Seeing the activity, the pure white Feral Pigeon also turned up.
The usual Kensington Gardens Chaffinch intercepted me at the Round Pond ...
... where the Little Owl was looking particularly fine at the entrance to her hole.
A Jay was waiting in an oak near the Queen's Temple ...
... and a Carrion Crow in a cherry by the Serpentine outflow.
Pigeon Eater was washing his face ...
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... before going hunting. He seldom succeeds with a direct frontal attack, since the pigeons can take off faster than he can. His best technique is a stealthy watch on a pigeon washing or preening, waiting for it to close its eyes.
He was watched enviously from the roof by his rival. I think this bird may be trying to hunt soon. I've seen him stalking in a crowd of pigeons, but not attacking yet.
The Black-Headed Gull who owns the landing stage is well into getting his dark head, which he always does well in advance of the other gulls.
A Cormorant caught a pike at Fisherman's Keep.
The sweetgum tree by the Big Bird statue attracted some admirers.
Tom was at Rainham Marshes, where he got a fine picture of a Dartford Warbler ...
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... and a Fieldfare.
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It's odd that Fieldfares are so seldom seen in the park. The ruins left by the Winter Wasteland usually attract plenty of Redwings and you would expect Fieldfares to arrive with them, but I haven't seen one here for two years.
I think he blew his chance by breaking into a call halfway through. Rookie mistake, unsuited to someone of his stature.
ReplyDeleteI lost count of all the birds coming to the hand. I'm sure they're in the hundreds at the end of your tour.
Tinúviel
It's only very seldom that Pigeon Eater gets anything by a direct rush. He knows, but tries it anyway just in case.
DeleteOne a cold day you can feed Great Tits continuously if you don't stop, as the earlier arrivals come back again and again.
Does the winter wasteland cause any long term harm to the park? The prices are so high it is amazing that anyone goes.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the Parade Ground for large and destructive events has permanently driven away birds that used to live there, such as a large colony of Pied Wagtails and the thrushes that nested in the surrounding trees. The number of both in the park has fallen.
DeleteThat is a great shame thank you for answering so quickly.
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